Ahead of NSG meet in Vienna, China plays hard to get

India’s membership to the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group(NSG) may come up next week at a special meeting being held in Vienna. New Zealand may have softened its stand on India’s membership, but China still needs to be won over.

“It is not really for us to comment as we are not inside the room," said Vikas Swarup, spokesperson for the ministry of external affairs. “However, after the NSG plenary in Seoul, we have had continued conversations with NSG members and remain engaged in the process. We have lodged our application. Now it is for the NSG members to consider it and take a decision.”

India has been working with the dragon, especially on the NSG issue. The talks between India’s chief nuclear negotiator Amandeep Gill and his Chinese counterpart Director General of department of arms control, Wang Qun, that last week were “substantive and constructive.” “We remain hopeful that China will see the benefit of India being part of the NSG.”

India’s prospects of using nuclear fuel as clean energy are bright. With Prime Minister Modi also scheduled to visit Japan -- and the civil nuclear deal being hammered out -- on November 11 for two days, it is hope that there will be progress on that front too.

What seems to be stuck in a perpetual rut, however, is the Indo-Pak relationship. Pakistan recalled six members of their mission staff. They also exposed the identities of eight of the Indian staff members, thereby compromising their security. Pakistan has alleged that the eight Indians were IB and RAW operatives. India strongly denied the allegations. “The allegations against the Indian officials represent an after-thought and a crude attempt to target these officials for no fault of theirs,’’ said Swarup.

A decision will be taken soon on whether to recall the eight Indian officials, looking at their safety and security, he said.